The week in tech: Jobs at ServiceNow, data centres under fire and Apple’s latest MacBook Air

There was good news for tech jobs in Dublin this week, with ServiceNow announcing plans for 400 jobs in the capital. The jobs, which will be created over the next three years, will be in digital sales, engineering, research and development. It is a welcome change from the news of jobs losses that have dominated the headlines in recent months.

Service Now chief executive Bill McDermot was in Dublin for the announcement on Tuesday. He told The Irish Times why Ireland still features prominently in the company’s plans for the future.

Data centres may have made it easier to access cloud services wherever we go, but there is a trade off to that convenience - namely the electricity consumption. According to the Central Statistics Office, data centres in the Republic used as much electricity as urban households last year despite a moratorium on new connections to the grid. Data centres now account for 18 per cent of the electricity consumed in Ireland, a figure that is raising more concerns over pressure on the national grid.

But a cap on data centres in Ireland has already been ruled out by the Government. And how big a drain are the data centres anyway?

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Cantillon also weighed in on the topic, noting that much has changed since Apple pulled its plans for a data centre in Athenry, a project that was bogged down in objections. The hand-wringing over what it could mean for the future and Ireland’s ability to attract investment - or not - has come to nothing, the CSO stats have shown. But Cantillon says the real issue is not if we can attract these projects, but should we?

Wayflyer, Ireland’s sixth unicorn that announced last year it would cut 40 per cent of its staff, has renewed a $300 million debt line with JP Morgan. It is an extension of the credit line the company signed last year with the bank, and chief executive Aidan Corbett says it is an endorsement of Wayflyer and its business.

In kerry, AI entertainment company Xavatar has signed a deal with Fexco Group to facilitate payments in its metaverse.

Microsoft is back in the headlines, with a US judge blocking the planned deal to buy Activision - but only temporarily.

In the EU, meanwhile, things are moving ahead with a draft law that would severely curtail uses of facial recognition software and compel makers of AI systems to disclose more about the data they use.

Ireland has become a centre for hybrid working, with new research from LinkedIn showing the country has one of the highest shares of jobs that can be done at least partially from outside the workplace. According to the study, which looked at job postings on LinkedIn’s own website, more than 40 per cent of paid job postings on the social network were for positions with hybrid working. That may be at odds with recent reports of chief executives trying to bring staff back to the office on a more permanent basis.

Can Apple take over the 15-inch laptop market? This week’s review is the 15-inch MacBook Air, a device that fills what was a glaring gap in the MacBook line-up. It gives Mac fans a cheaper option for a larger screen than the standard 13-inch Air, and still brings 18-hour battery life.

If you have been wondering about encrypted phones and messaging services, this week’s tech feature takes a look at some of the options out there - but why do we need them?

Karlin Lillington says there may be trouble ahead for the US when it comes to tech regulation.

Elsewhere, Irish cofounded fintech Atoa raised €6 million in a seed funding round that will help it go up against the established payment networks - Mastercard and Visa - in the UK. The company, which was founded by Cian O’Dowd, Sid Narayanan and Arun Rajkumar, allows small and medium sized companies to avoid high transaction fees by taking in-person payments through bank transfers.

Cloud financial software provider Envisage said it would invest €1 million in its business and create 12 jobs, increasing staff numbers by a third in the next three years. And car tech company ZF Technology plans to expand its tech hub in Ireland, creating some jobs with it,.

And Laura Slattery mulls over the latest job losses at Spotify, asking if the audio bubble has finally burst.

Meanwhile, Cantillon looked at the rise of the TikTok financial influencer, and how people are turning to them for financial advice rather than bankers.

Check out Google’s new Immersive View - Dublin landmarks have been given the AI treatment.

Finally, if you have been dying to get a peek at the latest version of Android ahead of its official release, this guide will tell you what you need and how to install it - and why you might want to think twice before you do.